Filosophize

I believe what Tim Cook stated about the horrifying privacy implications for us all should Apple cooperate... Also, didn't Trump imply that Edward Snowden should be executed...? Trumps big govt anti electronic privacy stance has been my biggest red flag.

Potentially useful link http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2016/01/perfect-timing-for-regime-federal.html

Would love to see a "The Truth About" video covering the Oregon/Militia situation!!! :thanks:

Having a debate with a few people about why parents should leave the military if they plan to have kids and need some data to back my position up. Any help is appreciated! Thank You! Found these so far: http://www.washington.edu/news/2011/07/21/adolescent-boys-among-those-most-affected-by-washington-state-parental-military-deployment-uw-study/ http://www.washington.edu/news/2011/10/31/children-of-deployed-military-at-greater-risk-of-engaging-in-violent-behavior/

//bump// I hope so too!

Violence will solve the problem!

Long time listener and donator, I can't recall or find any podcasts that discussed this topic, found a few short forum threads, but I would really love to hear Stefs thoughts on the topic of transgenderism, gender dysphoria etc Thank you in advance!

Simply amazing in terms of the access and interviews in this documentary, goes through the full post 9/11 timeline of the creation and expansion of warantless wiretapping in the US via the White House and the NSA Insane stories told by former attorney generals talking about how the AG and the 20 people below him were all going to resign in protest against the wiretapping in 2004 etc An absolute must watch, Stef really needs to watch this and consider doing a podcast about it! Watchable in full online @ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/united-states-of-secrets/ http://variety.com/2014/tv/reviews/tv-review-frontlines-the-united-states-of-secrets-1201175707/

Thank you all so much for all the replies, I apologize for my delay in responding. She spoke with her therapist about my fetish and the therapist asked for me to attend their next session and I did. It was very helpful and seemed to put my g/f at ease with the fetish. There are a lot of aspects to my kink/fetish that I seem to enjoy and be attracted to and also seem to fluctuate in the level of arousal they cause for me. At the advisement of the therapist I have been working very hard to let my g/f know what it is that I like but to not demand it of her, basically let her steer things toward the fetish play during sex should she feel comfortable with it. This has been hard for me but is getting progrssively easier surprisingly quickly and seems to be working very well. Last night we had what I would consider the best sex of our relationship and she was very dominate, controlling, lots of fetish talk, etc and she also agreed that it was the best sex we have had in a very long time for her. She opened up to me about how her recent dedication to working out has also helped her feel more confident. She also explained that she now feels much more comfortable with the fetish play since she doesn't fear that I am going to announce that I am gay or a woman on the inside or anything like that. I am feeling very positive and happy with things right now and what's odd is that I feel significantly less desire for the fetish play for some reason, I still enjoy it but I don't feel like it's all consuming like I did a month or so ago, I think maybe I was just so worried that this itch would never be scratched that I was freaking out a little bit.

Yes, because even if we are not actively engaged in the fetish type sex/scenarios/talk I just imagine it in my head while we have sex. I can have quick plain sex sometimes and still reach orgasm, I just don't feel remotely fulfilled by it.

She is currently going to therapy twice a month (max allowed by her healthcare provider) to work through her astoundingly bad childhood. I did about 2 years of therapy many years ago when I had been having major verbal fights with my parents, it was helpful. Hearing her reject the fetish and explain that it may even have damaged her perception of me outside of the realm of the fetish was devastating, I feel destroyed when I think about it. We had a talk/fight about it last night that did not go well. A few months ago she had requested that we not engage in the fetish style sex more than once per week which I agreed to, so last night we tried to engage in the fetish sex since it had been a week or two since the last time and she was in a very good mood when she got home from work. However I became very frustrated during the sex with her lack of enthusiasm, she did not seem even remotely "in to it" and when this happens it totally kills the mood for me. When I stopped the sex and brought up my frustration she became very upset, she said that it is my fault for not focusing on her at all during the sex, which is hard since that fetish is very focused on her dominating me and me being very passive... She actually went so far as to storm off into the other room and call me a "fucking idiot" for not realizing why she wasn't "into it" This was very painful, I felt numb and still do this morning. She came back into the room last night ~10mins later and apologized and we dropped the conversation and went to bed. This morning she was gone for work before I got up and I sent her a text stating how horrible I feel and that a huge part of me just wants to throw everything away that has anything to do with the fetish and never do it any of it ever again. I apologized for being selfish in the sex as well. She said she is not mad or upset, and apologized again for the name calling last night, says she loves me and that we are ok, said we should go to the beach and relax on our next mutual day off. I can't help but feel like the issue has not really been addressed at all, I have a deep sinking feeling in my stomach that the same thing will happen again should we try to have the fetish related sex again. I am having a really hard time trying to look at the situation objectively, and problem solve any possible solutions, I feel so down, I feel scared that our relationship may not work if I can't find a resolution. If there was a pill I could take to just wipe the fetish from my head and be perfectly satisfied with completely average normal sex I would sell my soul to take it.

This fetish has now started to cause issues in my relationship, my g/f does not want to be dominant in bed and says that she would prefer to be dominated in bed instead. My g/f seems to have not enjoyed my fetish as much as I thought she has, she is now saying that it makes her look differently at me, hard to see me as "a man" after she dominates me in bed. I am distrought, I will often swear off ever asking her to be dominate in bed ever again and then when the opportunity comes around again it's insanely hard for me resist it.

Wasn't sure what I would be getting when I watched this... Turned out to be a psychoanalysis of popular movies and culture. I could see Stefan and this community being very interested in watching this... Here is a link http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2152198/

Getting coverage setup with the VA is a nightmare but he quality of care once you have it is very dependent on where you live.

I'm skeptical of these "results"... http://www.cbsnews.com/news/multivitamin-researchers-say-case-is-closed-supplements-dont-boost-health/

Thanks for the reply (That Popular Anti-Social Guy) I definitely left the conversation thinking of the quote "you can't reason someone out of a belief they were not reasoned into" However, I enjoyed it, and did feel like I might have made some progress with him perhaps thinking a bit about the difference between "faith" and "knowing"

(I had posted the following on a facebook thread that then prompted this individual to message me) "It always amazes me how many times this God orders the killing of innocent people even after the Ten Commandments said “Thou shall not kill”..." Conversation Start: I don't want to come across wrong, but it would be cool to talk with you about your comment on one of (name removed) church posts. Not trying to convince you about anything or even argue but maybe just explain our side of why its important to us. I agree that there are some really screwed up things done in the name of God but that's why We believe in God and not in people. Whats sad is that the Bible, Torah, Karan.... have all been used for evil things and they all claim that there God is better. Any belief based on people will fall, be corrupt, and infiltrate peoples natural freedoms. True "GOD" based faith will bring more than I can even claim to understand. Hope to get a good conversation going on this without anyone taking it personally. I honestly am curious on your thoughts behind the post. It seemed passionate If I said something offensive I am not meaning too, like I said above hoping to get a little feed back.I hope your doing well too haven't seen you in a long while 11:56am I don't believe that you truly, deep down really believe in a "god". Am I wrong? 12:09pm I believe in a God that created the earth (or used science to create earth), I believe that people are naturally "not good" and that we all spend our entire time on earth trying to find or be "good" and that the "good" we truly seek is really just a way for us to feel better about our shortfalls in life. The thing so powerful about God is that he was never meant to be fully understood by people. I believe that each person has a purpose that they will fulfill in life, and that every wrong or right step was intentional. You ask if I "truly" believe in a God. I say no I believe in the one and only God. Do you deny that if you had been raised in a different random geographical area with a different predominant religion that you would most assuredly say the same thing except that you would believe that whatever god you were taught you would then think was the "one and only god" or even perhaps the "many true gods" No, I don't deny that. I endorse it, like I said above every single person has a purpose and will fulfill that purpose. I was not made to ponder at what religion I would believe in if I was born in another country or culture. I was born in this culture and focus on my personal relationship with it. I embrace that others in other cultures question beliefs and practices, that they continue to seek truth and ponder the same questions that every being on earth has asked for centuries. I think its clear at this point that no person has successfully proven anything other than God that makes sense (correct me if I am wrong) And quite frankly the time I spent outside of my culture I felt so lost and every once of myself fought against the belief in God only to have him literally lead me to a stronger belief in him. I have worked through my struggles in beliefs with God and am now in the middle of going through any doubts I have in the bible and other parts of my beliefs. To say I have blind faith in Christianity would be wrong. I am not the first in line to listen to flawed men preach. You could say that I have blind faith in God. I am fulfilled every day, seeking truth, and my purpose in life; outside the ordinary paying bills (etc). My question to you why do you think that people call a belief in God silly/stupid/ not realistic? And you think they are referring to a certain religion or just that there are so many sub beliefs that it makes it easy to tear apart in an argument? "I was not made to ponder" What do you mean by this? haha nothing like taking something out of context it was meant that I have already worked through my doubts in people, God, E.T., the flying spaghetti monster, and Godzilla....... what do you believe in Mark? honestly with no judgment do you believe that non-believers in this Christian "god" are going to a place of eternal hellfire after death should they not accept the Christian "god"? new rule: each person has to honestly answer a question before they get to ask another question no what do you believe in? you are making a claim you are the one stating that you believe in X the burden of proof is always upon the person making the claim if I were to claim that unicorns exist, it is not up to you to prove that I am wrong it would be up to me to prove that I am correct you know this ^^ is correct so do you believe that non-believers in this Christian "god" are going to a place of eternal hellfire after death should they not accept the Christian "god"? it's okay to be uncomfortable with that question, I would be concerned if you weren't, but you can't deny it's importance or fail to answer it clearly, it is an undeniable tenant of the belief system your original claim was that belief in X has led to killing even though they believe in "thou shall not kill." And proof of God is/ up to the person who needs proof. I have proof..... you do not..... Like I said earlier you will not find proof of God amongst flawed people because everyone is a hypocrite to a certain extent. You want proof you I dare you to proof that he doesn't exist. And yes I do believe in the second coming of Christ and that people will be judged by God and that there is a Hell and people will go there. that was not my claim There is no good without the Bad and no Spirit without the Flesh "It always amazes me how many times this God orders the killing of innocent people even after the Ten Commandments said “Thou shall not kill”..." I would never condemn other people there. ^^ was my statement on the thread not people killing God killing God ORDERING the killing My apologies. big difference tho I agree it's easy to say humans a flawed no one will argue that here is the thing you answered the question (do you believe that non-believers in this Christian "god" are going to a place of eternal hellfire after death should they not accept the Christian "god"?) very indirectly you said "yes I do believe in the second coming of Christ and that people will be Judged by God and that there is a Hell and people will go there." So let's make this simple, I asked (do you believe that non-believers in this Christian "god" are going to a place of eternal hellfire after death should they not accept the Christian "god"?) Do you believe ^^ this or not. Its not that simple Mark. I believe you die, face Gods judgment, then go to either Heaven or Hell. ok Did you grow up a mother and father your entire childhood? Only God know some things Did you grow up a mother and father your entire childhood? ie: was there any divorce, separation, step father/mother etc if you mean "did I grow up with a mother and father my whole life?" Then yes no history of divorce. with the exception of my grandpa on my mom’s side. tell me about your childhood experience with religion if you don't mind Mom married my dad catholic and my dad was raised without religion and found it. My mom eventually felt more aligned with Christian beliefs soon after being married did your father "find it before or after meeting your mom"? before Probably after my his dad did. Our family has a long history of turning from God, only later to return to the belief. go on Church was regular, spent middle school making friends with similar beliefs and high school making friends with people that I liked hanging out with regardless of belief. tell me about this "Our family has a long history of turning from God, only later to return to the belief." Church was spoon fed as if it was a manual to be the best Christian.... even though there is no true perfect Christian. Which pissed me off. tell me about this "Our family has a long history of turning from God, only later to return to the belief." so I explored some other beliefs enough to get the big picture of a couple, Mormonism, catholicism, Buddhism....... and came to the conclusion that life is a constant battle between the spirit and the flesh. spirit being naturally holy and the flesh being naturally selfish (craving and receiving what ever it desires, lust, greed, etc....) and found that being fulfilled is keeping that balance where the spirit over powers the flesh (I try to do this and fail a lot, but I never stop trying). ^^ that's interesting and I understand what you mean by it but you're still not telling me about "Our family has a long history of turning from God, only later to return to the belief." My Grandpa rebelled against religion when he was a boy. Worked his way to the top of Pacific Bell as one of the top V.P.'s and found that nothing made him more fulfilled and driven in life than his faith in God. My Dad was a cowboy who cared nothing else about sorry didn't see you typing no worries I am slow My mom was raised by divorced abusive alcoholics that preached God will smite you and God will hurt you etc.... That Fear of God is the most important thing i.e. catholic upbringing...... What sort of fallout would you expect from your parents should you tomorrow announce that you no longer believe in any gods? being left on her own to survive on numerous occasions have led her to believe what she believes today.... Seeing as my parents aren't the only ones who have been through these things it is interesting when we use the word culture just doesn't work in these situations. There isn't really a specific culture other than the normal fads of there generations but rather a specific event, or series of events that make us who we are today; and with it our constantly changing culture..... I would be more worried about my grandparents than my parents. I could be Gay for all my parents care if that’s what I truly believe. They would be worried that I wouldn't be saved and that I would struggle through a lot of lifes already difficult challenges. Do you admit that you may be wrong in your beliefs about the existence of a god entity? Not that believing makes it all easy or anything but it helps your attitude and will keep moving on past the unfair lives we live. 100% work doesn't always mean 100% reward in this life. I think that it is better to live a Life believing than life a Life questioning. And there are days when I wonder about my beliefs just like the rest of us..... I do always believe there is a God. I mostly question practices and the religious routines. You claim to believe, but do you admit that there is a chance that you're wrong I was raised to always seek the truth and it has always led me to the Belief in God... The day that stops happening is the day that I will join millions of other people who believe one thing one day then flip flop on other days. Like I said above I mostly question specific meanings of the bible and practices.... other than the time I have spent trying to avoid church and God I have never lost faith in God just people and religion why do you think you're so hesitant to just say that there is a chance that you could be wrong? With God there isn't room for grey area you either believe or you don't belief and faith are different from knowing I have faith than an airplane is not going to land on my house in the next 30 seconds, but.... I could be wrong... Do you find it hard to say "I have faith that a god exists, but I could be factually incorret" knowing is only a perception. it is really only what we think we know you can't start skipping off to to other dimensions to avoid making a non wishy washy statement I have faith than an airplane is not going to land on my house in the next 30 seconds, but.... I could be wrong... does ^^ make sense? No I think that is ok to say and feel and it is perfectly normal. I personally know God exists. okay, so there is a major problem there what you're saying is simply not true claiming knowledge that you don't have is very slippery you can say "I believe XYZ," "I have faith in XYZ" you can not say "I KNOW that zombie jesus rose from the grave cause I read it in a book" it's important to be precise with language Your logic is witty Mark and your debating skills are in fact excellent. Are you questioning my beliefs or your own? I am not the one that needs proof of God? I have experienced it and lived it. I already mentioned that if you want proof God exists you won't find it in a conversation. If you want proof I believe in something you already have it. If you want to talk about specific beliefs we can do that but you can't generalize something like God and the rising of Jesus in the same sentence. They are different. ^^ not the point not mad just passionate Do you think that I can be correct while claiming that I "know" that no plane will land on my head in the next 30 seconds? ^^ very easy question with only one answer Faith is not a science, is not calculated, is not an emotion or a feeling, it isn't comparable to a Plane, or a boat on water, or your feet staying on the ground. It is something that is based on a personal level between you and God. It is used incorrectly or lightly when being referred to a plane. There is no earthly comparison for Faith Mark. What you are talking about is hope. You "hope" that a plane won't crash on your head and "believe it won't because it doesn't usually happen? so NO no I am not talking about faith I am talking about the difference between faith and knowing most christians will accurately admit that while they have "faith" they also admit that there is a chance they are wrong in their belief Ok no you do not know a plane will crash on your head the distinction between the two words matters similar to objective vs subjective I am not most christians. What's the point in believing something if you are willing to just turn around and say you could be wrong. What a waste, especially when most people are unsure because the just walk to church and don't actually pursue God on a personal level In your words, what is the difference between "knowing" and "believing"? They are not settled in their "Faith" or "Belief" in God then? Knowing i something that you were taught to know it is objective. Believing is something that isn't taught it is found only by the person "seeking a belief" i.e. subjective I know bible stories because I have been taught them. I believe in God and that they are true because I have found my belief in God to be truth. you're using language irresponsibly in that statement it's okay you "know" a story because you were taught that story that is a factual statement however you do NOT know if that story is true or not Knowledge can be subjective and objective I am using it in this example as something that is taught like most believers your statement is incorrect knowledge cann't be subjective a feeeling or a belief is subjective knowledge is objective absent the topic of coversation, your definitions of these words are not accurate that's okay tho, let's clarify I can know how to play a song I can not know that a song is the best song I can believe that a song is the best song so back to the conversation at hand john can say "I *feel* in my heart and soul that there is a god john can say "I believe in a god" john can say "I have faith that there is a god" john can NOT say "I know there is a god" I don't think you should feel werid about that it's simply accurate use of language Is not a main element of faith to believe absent objective proof? Mark even if I told you I KNOW there is a God and that he has spoken to me in some supernatural way or spiritual way or through some kind of sign. You would argue to death that it was a tumor, disease, I was illogical or used incorrect grammar to explain it to you. Faith described in words is useless to a person who has no intention to find some. It is also useless to a person who describes God as "Absent Objective Proof," as is if he is a lost toy that you KNOW existed at one point and can't find now. I had fun with this conversation and have to start studying for a final but feel free to keep it going if you have more questions or thoughts I just wont be a quick responder the rest of today. I am sorry if I used some words incorrectly it's how I have always used them and should probably get better about that. God bless you Mark You didn't answer the last question I asked and you attacked me for arguments that I have not made (You would argue to death that it was a tumor, disease, I was illogical or used incorrect grammar to explain it to you) Conversation End (He logged off).

Thank you for the post, I will listen to the podcasts tonight, my mother has since started texting me saying that she looked up this "stefan molyneux" and is now concerned that I "have gone off the deep end" with "anti family" "cult" stuff... *sigh* =(

lmao...

Sophisticated operation right there... Modifying court documents to such an extent as to release completely different people? Wow...

Today I spoke with my mother about my childhood neglect/abuse. It was hard, I cried a bit, I became upset when she came up with justifications and explanations. Abuse/Neglect history: My father was running a business my entire childhood, he was essentially "gone" yet in the other side of the house for ~85% of my childhood. My parents spanked me ~less than 10 times or so to my memory as a child and ~less than 5 times or so put tobasco and/or soap in my mouth as punishment for bad language or "talking back". There are a handful of times that I can recall where I would be under a desk listening to my parents scream at each other during verbal "fights" of theirs. My mother was a serious "helicopter mom" meaning she was always hovering, controlling, micro managing, I was constantly told I was "gifted" and extremely intelligent. My highschool years were filled with depression, alienation, bullying, and verbal fighting with my parents. My father was almost killed when I was in 3rd grade when an employee that he fired attempted to stab him to death, my father survived with only minor injuries. --Today-- I spoke with my mother today on the phone and didn't really intend to bring all of this up but it all came flooding out after we had been talking about how she is attempting to help a close family friend of hers try to deal with a very troubled home life right now, (friend has a husband who is overeating himself to death, while she has MS and is in/out of the hospital regularly). I became very frustrated when my mother strongly objected to my calling the neglect from my father "abuse". She is familiar with Stefan Molyneux and has listed to a handful of podcasts and videos. She told me that I am using "Stefans words" not my own. He said that my father worked so hard to support me and my brothers etc and that he always had good intentions. I tried to explain that regardless of the intentions I feel like the neglect needs to be addressed in our family, for my sake and for my younger brothers' sakes' so that we don't take any baggage into our future relationships and future parenting. She said multiple times that I "did not have an abusive childhood" and asked "do you want an apology from him for working so hard to support you?" She said that if I confront him using terms such as "abuse" that he will become very upset and it could jeopardize "our relationship", that he already had one heart attack and that I should keep it to myself if I can't talk about it with less harsh language because it could kill him... She stated that perhaps I should consider the fact that his father died when he was seven and that that might be a factor for why he wasn't close with my brothers or I and in the same breath also tell me that I should go to therapy to discuss how to talk about this in non destructive way... Keep in mind that I hadn't said anything to her about how/when/where I wanted to speak with my dad about any of this, all I said was that I think the communication in our family is bad and that I want us to all talk about our childhood for my brothers and I's sake. She got off the phone needing to take care of a sick cat... and has since texted me statements such as "have you considered making the effort to repair your relationship with your dad while you still have him around" "isn't that a more productive use of everyones energies" and "the past is the past" again with the "do you want an apology for him working so hard to support you" I have only responded with "I will not talk about this via text" and she asked when I am availible to talk again, I said next week, she responded saying she is frustrated to have to hear all this today and have to wait till next week to talk again... I feel good that I let a lot of this out, I feel like I am one step closer to having this conversation with my dad, I do feel like I am owed an apology from him, I understand the intentions of providing for the family but I really wish we had lived in a smaller house with less cars and less stuff and instead had more time with my father... I am not sure how to keep talking to my mother without getting upset/angry with her justifications. Thank you for any help anyone can provide, I feel like I am not sure what I am hoping to accomplish, I tell myself that I want closure from my childhood, I feel like I have some anger/resentment towards my parents that will sometimes show when I have a petty disagreement with them when visiting/spending time with them.

lmao what genius @ Starbucks corporate sold this idea to the board...

My g/f is going to her first therapy appointment next week and I want to help her connect to a quality therapist. I am wondering if anyone here has used Kaiser health insurance for therapy and may have any tips on how to find a good therapist. She is going to therapy to process through the very abusive childhood that she had, physical, verbal, emotional abuse from both parents, death of one parent during childhood, self image/weight issues from being obese as a child etc. She is 30 years old and has never been to therapy before. Thank you in advance for any help anyone can offer!

She has health insurance that would make the therapy very affordable, I do not, well, I have VA coverage but I don't trust the government employees enough to talk to them in such a way, if we get married I will have the same access, we've been together for 2 years and I truly love her, I plan on proposing around the 3 year mark assuming she can get her debt paid off in the next year and go through a year of therapy for her very abusive childhood. I went to therapy as a teenager both solo and with my parents at my request, this was due to my heavy verbal fighting with my parents mostly centering around them trying to control and micro manage every aspect of my life. The therapy was very good for me and it did help get my parents off my back. I guess I am hoping that my g/f can do a year of therapy and come out a lot better off because of it, then we could get married, then I could go to therapy if the fetish was anything other than being happily fulfilled in our relationship. Not opposed to talking about the fetish in her therapy sessions but I guess I just don't feel like my fetish is really a problem, I guess I see the problem as being more around her non being comfortable with it, this sounds selfish I guess, perhaps it is... Does this seem like a good/bad plan?

Thank you for all the replies! My g/f and I have been talking about getting her into therapy for her abusive childhood, she asked if I could come with her and we could also talk about my fetish with the therapist, she says she doesn't want me to "repress" or ignore my fetish, but that she does have a hard time with it sometimes, mostly because she likes seeing me as a masculine dominant man. I agreed to go to therapy with her and talk about the fetish. I do however feel like she needs/should deal with her abusive childhood first since that is likely IMO causing her insecurity/discomfort with the fetish. Anyone have any thoughts on how to deal with the two different topics when going into therapy with her? One thing I should say to help people understand the fetish: when I have an orgasm, the desire for the fetish completely leaves me, completely, it's very interesting, I feel very peaceful and content (as expected I guess lol) but I have zero desire to continue talking about the fetish or any of it's elements in any way unless I were to try and "get back in the mood" I guess this important due to my understanding that some fetishes are more 24/7 lifestyles than they are specific to only when aroused.